WHITLAND U10s 14 pts TENBY U10s 14
After a very enjoyable Christmas break, the young squad donned their boots for yet another hard clash with old rivals Whitland.
Captain for the day, Andrew Cooke, played his role excellently. His trademark of ripping the ball and making the hard yards was as strong as ever.
Whitland were short in numbers, but not in strength. They defended manfully, which kept the likes of Joseph Richards out after several of his darting runs down the wing and Ianto Griffiths, who was busy as ever around the base of the scrum.
A very tight first half eventually saw the home side take the lead with a powerful try which was converted comfortably.
Tenby then turned up the heat with some well organised forward play from Daniel Thomas, Alex Thomas and Lewis Davies who all inter-connected well with the backs to allow Michael Robins and Lewis Canton to exploit their speed down the wings, but all were halted by some very tight tackling by the home side.
The second half started where the first left off with explosive runs from Tom Baker who, after only being on the field for some two minutes, scored an excellent try which Ianto converted handsomely.
This brought the game to another level which saw both sides upping the tempo, hoping to break the defence of the other. This was done with a strong individual try from the home side's centre, which again was converted comfortably to bring the score to 14-7 to Whitland with only five minutes remianing
Daniel Gosnold kept the pressure on up front for Tenby with his trademark charges through the middle, backed up by darting jinking runs from Lewis Hodgson and the very impressive Lloyd Thomas. His commitment was unbelievable and eventually saw him cross the line for the best try of the day, which Ianto converted to bring the scores level.
With only a minute left on the clock, Whitland found a fifth gear and attacked with gusto, which had the Seasiders defending with all their might, but it was one in particular who saved the day for Tenby, young Michael Robins. A very large and fast back was tanking it down the right wing with a sure try beckoning when Michael took the bull by the horns and brought the would-be scorer down to earth with a bone-shuddering tackle.
Final score, a very impressive draw, 14-14.
Well done lads, a good start to the year 2002. See you all on Sunday at 10 am for training at the Clicketts.
TENBY U11s 12 pts WHITLAND U11s 12
What a cracker of a match to start the New Year! The eagerly-awaited clash between the two top teams in Pembrokeshire lived up to and exceeded all expectations, with both showing a maturity in skills and commitment far beyond their years.
Tenby knew that this was to be the 'Big One' and knew that Whitland would have prepared thoroughly to take a crack at Tenby's unbeaten record. The evenly matched teams were raring to go after the Christmas lay-off and a magnificent display of rugby was produced by both teams.
Tenby, who were captained by Kiefer Thomson at half-back, were put under early pressure, with Whitland camped on their line for a long period. Despite everything thrown at them, the defence did not crack, with every member of the team tackling their hearts out.
The siege was lifted with a Tenby breakout which saw Toby Smith outstripping the opponents and running virtually the length of the pitch for a fine solo try. This was initially converted by Patrick Roberts, but the retake that was ordered went wide.
The teams had different styles of play as suited their strengths.
Whitland chose the direct power game that suited their big forwards, while Tenby opted for the passing game which suited their speed and guile. A narrow pitch, however, prevented the expensive game favoured by the visitors.
The Tenby forwards had to strain every muscle and sinew to contain the opposition and won enough ball for their lively backs to have a tilt at the line. Yannic Parker, in the middle of the front row, was always in the fray, while Jack Baker once again provided a no-nonsense commitment. Daniel McDermott and Robert Jones shared the other prop position with vigour.
Mobile second-rowers Joseff Morris and Patrick Roberts won plenty of ball and made telling tackles to ensure the halt of many Whitland attacks.
Captain Kiefer Thomson played a courageous game at scrum-half, always ensuring that quick ball was delivered to his backs.
Jamie Williams made some exciting runs and passed the ball at the right moments to centre Toby Smith, who continues to impress. James Criddle once again proved to be a speedy and elusive runner and made a scintillating break to score Tenby's second try. This one was converted by Patrick.
Oliver Goldwait was admirable when brought on out of position to cover the wing positions and made his tackles count. Talking of tackles, however, special mention must be made of Matthew Davies's work in that department. His motto must be "thou shalt not pass" and yet again he saved what looked like certain scores.
Unfortunately, James Canton was injured in the pre-match warm-up and was rested for this match, but we hope to see him back in action soon.
Whitland scored two tries themselves, one of which was converted - but now for the controversy. Should the Whitland conversion have been allowed to stand?
You will have noted that the first Tenby conversion was disallowed because it was not taken in line with where the try was scored. This should have been applied to Whitland's successful kick, but wasn't! This would have meant Tenby could have won.
In any event, the honours were even and the game a credit to both sides. Compliments were paid by the Whitland coach to the way Tenby recycled the ball and kept it moving and we can return the same to Whitland in respect of their rucking and driving play.
We all saw an excellent game of rugby, played fairly by two sporting groups of boys and long may the rivalry continue. Until we meet again then...
Tenby fielded: Matthew Davies, James Criddle, Toby Smith, Oliver Goldwait, Jamie Williams, Kiefer Thomson (capt), Patrick Roberts, Joseff Morris, Daniel McDermott, Robert Jones, Yannic Parker and Jack Baker.
WHITLAND U12s 15 pts. TENBY U12s 7
A big crowd was treated to some stirring stuff from these two young teams. Clearly the WRU's investment in junior coaching is paying off, especially in Pembrokeshire.
Both Whitland and Tenby played the game in a great sporting manner and were able to display a high level of competence in every area of the 15-man game. Whitland had the edge up front and a big set of forwards were particularly effective in the loose. Tenby's exciting back-line were starved of quality ball for most of the match, although when the ball was spun out wide, only good defending from the home side thwarted attempts to cross the line.
Whitland were first to put points on the board, after a long spell camped inside the Tenby 22. A second phase ball was passed out wide for the Whitland winger to cross in the corner.
After all this pressure, Tenby were expected to capitulate, but that could not have been further from the truth. Rob Colley quickly tapped a penalty award inside his own 22, his surging run took him on 15 metres when he fed the ever-present Henry Boot. Boot carried the ball into a throng of Whitland forwards and cleverly popped it up to Luke Dedman who found Colley on his shoulder. Colley fed Guto Griffiths who side-stepped one tackle and slipped the ball to Sam Christopher, who sped off towards the line, outpacing the home side's back-line and touching down under the posts. Griffiths converted comfortably.
The whole match was full of exciting moves, try-saving tackles and skilful running from both teams.
There were big performances this week from Mathew Watkins and David Denton in the front row, and Luke Dedman worked tremendously hard all game. Sam Baker had his hands full at scrum-half, but showed guts and determination, Tom Griffiths and Mathew Lewis came on and put on a good show up front.
The back row boys, Richard Thomas and Jones, made some huge tackles and often took the game to Whitland. Huw Evans and Scott Helmich both made valuable contributions. Joe Lewis worked hard in the loose.
The Tenby backs did not see much ball, but made good ground when they did. Simon Stanford had a few Whitland supporters shouting him on, Aaron Goldsmith, Jamie Robins and Ryan Lewis were full of running and Danny Williams and Ben Griffiths were always dependable when it came to that last gasp tackle.
The final mention must go to debutant Josh Bevan; his gritty performance was mentioned by everyone watching as his strong running constantly had the home side on the back foot.
A big thank you to all the parents and friends who turned out to support the lads this week.
Tenby squad: Mathew Lewis, Guto Griffiths, Ryan Lewis, Scott Helmich, Richard Thomas, Rob Colley, Josh Bevan, Tom Griffiths, Huw Evans, Danny Williams, Aaron Goldsmith, Ben Griffiths, David Denton, Jamie Robins, Simon Stanford, Sam Christopher, Joe Lewis, Sam Baker, Henry Boot, Luke Dedman, Mathew Watkins, Richard Jones.